THE SUCCESSFUL SERMON

 

So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;

 It shall not return to Me void,

But it shall accomplish what I please,

And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.  (Isaiah 55:11)

What makes a sermon successful?  Is it that people applaud it?  Do we not recall the hostility the prophets often met in response to their message?  Perhaps it is by the crowds that gather in eagerness to hear us—but what of how the preaching of Jesus would lead people to walk away from Him?  The Apostles’ sermons could cause led a mob to beat them rather than a crowd to bless them!

How often does the man of God slump in exhaustion as the darkness of disappointment envelops him!  The preacher has poured out his soul in delivering that which the Lord has thrust upon him—“the burden of the LORD,” as the Old Testament prophets called it—and the people sat silent and unmoved as a stone.  Not to mention the times when we were met with criticism over the message—sharp barbs, poisoned with anger, plunged into our heart.

No wonder so many resignation letters are written in the pastor’s study on Monday morning.

Maybe we have failed.

That is always possible, of course.  We may have failed to prepare ourselves spiritually and studiously—our hearts empty and our mouths correspondingly.  The preacher may lean on the flesh, trust in homiletics alone, and not depend on the Holy Spirit.  Unrepentant sin may short-circuit our usefulness, damming up the flow of grace to and through us.  The pastor can become so enamored with his own popularity that he seeks his glory and not God’s.  This is the path to failure in the sermon.

Yet, we may shun all of that, ready ourselves as best of may, and still not see the visible results we desire.  It may be that we do not understand what makes a successful sermon.  It is simply this: being faithful to the Word of God in dependence on the Spirit of God—having prepared to use to the full the gifts God has placed in me, and all for His glory.  If I do that, then no matter the evaluation of man, the Word of God has accomplished its mission.  The sermon is successful.  God has promised to always fulfill its purpose.  Can you then fail?  “Certainly not! Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar. As it is written: ‘That You may be justified in Your words, And may overcome when You are judged.’ ”  (Rom.3:4)  Only God’s verdict on our message ultimately matters, and He stamps such preaching: SUCCESSFUL!

 

ONE MORE ARROW

 

Now a certain man drew a bow at random, and struck the king of Israel between the joints of his armor. So he said to the driver of his chariot, “Turn around and take me out of the battle, for I am wounded.”  (1 Kings 22:34)
 

The battle was winding down.  The armies of Israel had been routed.  A lone Syrian soldier looks into his quiver and there a single arrow remains.  What is the point of returning home with it?  He places it to his bow, pulls the string taut, and fires at random.  Like a guided missile, that last arrow finds the smallest of openings in the wicked King Ahab’s armor—and it would be fatal.  The Word of God by His prophets was fulfilled, exactly as uttered by God’s men, Elijah and Micaiah.
 

So, this Lord’s Day, I come into battle for the souls of men.  Who am I, but one solitary soldier of the cross?  Yet, I will do my duty.  There is one more sermon in my quiver which I will launch.  Is it the last one?  I never know.  I only know that there will be a final message someday—and each sermon delivered might be the last arrow.  What shall I do?  I will stand in front of the congregation and fire that arrow.  I will trust God to guide it to the target He has ordained in His sovereignty.
 

Men, let us all do likewise—pulling back the Bible bowstring with all the strength God gives.  We claim the promise of the Lord of Hosts, “So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”  (Isaiah 55:11) 
 

Did the nameless archer with one more arrow know what he had accomplished that day—that his act would be recorded in Holy Scripture and read countless times across thousands of years?  I doubt it.  So, we may judge that the sermon was launched into the air, but wonder how it might possibly have been effective.  God knows.  More may be accomplished than we are aware.
 

Now, weary warrior, after a week of battles, set that arrow to flight and trust God to bring it to His target.  By God’s grace, next week He will furnish another arrow, and another after that—until the last arrow is sent into the air.  For today, He has given one more arrow.